'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' mints Rs 55 cr, 'Dhaakad' bags Rs 2 cr in 1st weekend

With over Rs 55 crore, the opening weekend looks promising for Kartik Aryan-starrer "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2", the horror comedy which clashed at the box office with Kangana Ranaut-fronted action spy thriller "Dhaakad" last Friday.

The makers said "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2" had an opening of Rs 14.11 crore, followed by an impressive Rs 18.34 crore on Saturday. The film's Sunday collection of Rs 23.51 crore took its opening weekend collection to Rs 55.96 crore.

According to trade sources, "Dhaakad" opened with Rs 50 lakhs and collected around Rs 2 crore by the weekend, following which distributors started reducing the screen count of the movie due to "extremely low audience turnout".

A sequel to Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan-starrer 2007 psychological horror comedy, "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2" is being lauded for ending Bollywood's dry spell at the box office, which saw only two other Hindi films doing impressive business -- Alia Bhatt's February release "Gangubai Kathiawadi" and "The Kashmir Files" in March.

A Mumbai-based trade critic, on the condition of anonymity, said when a film doesn't record excellent occupancy, theatre owners often go with the movies that are receiving good reports.

"There was a need and demand in the audience for 'Bhool Bhulaiya 2' but nothing for 'Dhaakad'," he told PTI, adding the "Dhaakad" shows have definitely been reduced and cancelled in many places.

"It has happened in the past, it's a standard industry practice. Shows of 'Heropanti 2' were replaced with 'KGF 2', shows of 'Jayeshbhai Jordar' were replaced with 'Doctor Strange', 'Bachchhan Paandey' was replaced with 'The Kashmir Files'. It's nothing new," he further said.

According to the trade critic, "Bhool Bhulaiya 2" released in approximately 3,200 screens and "Dhaakad" had debuted in 2,200 screens across the country.

"But right now, around 25 per cent screens have been reduced for the film ('Dhaakad')."

Manoj Desai, Executive Director of Gaiety, Galaxy and Maratha Mandir cinema, said he opted for "KGF: Chapter 2" to replace "Dhaakad" at his 'Galaxy' screen which has the capacity of 818 attendees.

"We shifted the film on Sunday from my 'Galaxy' screen, which has a capacity of 818, to 'Gemini', which is smaller in capacity with 238 seats. Now KGF 2 is running in Galaxy and still earning more than 'Dhaakad'. 'Dhaakad' is running on four shows, but some of the shows are also getting cancelled because of no audience," Desai added.

If one film is going housefull and the other is managing to sell only about 20 tickets through four shows, it will be taken down, observed a Rajasthan-based exhibitor.

Echoing his Mumbai counterpart's sentiments, he said the shows of a poorly performing film such as "Dhaakad" being dropped is "normal industry practice".

"This is a trend all over India, no one feels offended. Everyone understands that if there's no collection, the show's will be reduced. Right now, 'Bhool Bhulaiya 2' has done excellent business, while 'KGF: Chapter 2' is also still running and making numbers.